


Polish

by grimorie



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Collection: Purimgifts Day 2, Community: purimgifts, F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-05
Updated: 2015-03-05
Packaged: 2018-03-16 11:09:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3486002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grimorie/pseuds/grimorie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Root used to like Halloween.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Polish

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lea_hazel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lea_hazel/gifts).



> Happens between _Pretenders_ and _Honor Among Thieves_. Slight canon divergance.
> 
> Thanks to dealanexmachina and hagar for beta and hand holding. 
> 
> All mistakes are mine.

Root used to like Halloween. But recently, with the way she's been changing identities every few days, the shine of Halloween had disappeared.

Halloween, as all things in Bishop _sucked_ , what didn't suck was the conceit of Halloween-- be someone else for a day. It was the time she could both be someone else and be herself. Root used to like being someone else, pretending to be someone else.

As she grew older Root realized she loved the game of making people believe whatever she wanted them to believe. She didn't realize how much she took that for granted until she had to do this every day. Shifting from one life to another from Sarah to Anna to Mary was exhausting that being herself was a welcome respite.

So, it was really a surprise when Root realized she had no new assignments on Halloween.

"Miss Groves," Harold said, and Root felt the corners of her lips turn up with amusement. He always looked so surprised when she appeared in the subway. Root can admit that a part of her still enjoyed the fear and guardedness she provoked in Harold even when she was actively trying to get him to trust her. 

"Going somewhere, Harry?" Root asked noting his leather bound briefcase.

"Is there something you need?" Harold asked, answering her question with a question.

"It's my day off," she said, she showed off her bag of chocolates. "And it's Halloween."

He looked confused, "What does Halloween have to do with anything?"

"Didn't you know, Harold?" A frisson, like slow crawling lightning run through Root at the sound of Shaw's voice. "Nothin' ever happens on Halloween."

She savored the feeling of anticipation as she turned and saw Shaw emerge somewhere from the makeshift pantry of the subway with a bowl of cereal and Bear trotting right next to her.

Root grinned at the sight: A girl and her dog. "Hey, you."

Shaw responded with a raised eyebrow before cutting her eyes to Harold. "Thought you were heading home?"

"I am," Harold said. "I was just leaving. If there's nothing else, Miss Groves, I have somewhere else to be."

"Hot date, Harry?" Root teased. "Or a Halloween party? Remember, Harry, the only rule of Halloween is to be someone you're not." 

Out of the corner of Root's eye she saw the corner of Shaw's lips curl into a crooked grin. 

"Good bye, Miss Groves," Harold said firmly and turned to leave.

He hobbled up the stairs, into one of the many secret tunnels the Subway harbored. 

"Was it something I said?" Root joked.

Shaw didn't reply; instead, she went to the bench and sat down to eat. Bear followed her, and Root - lacking anything better to do - followed along and sat on the other end of the bench.

Root found herself watching Shaw eat her cereal. It was 8PM, and somehow Root thought Shaw would eat something substantial and meat-y. Root recalled Shaw ordering pancakes at that crappy diner in New Jersey the year before; maybe Shaw did have something about breakfast food.

"Are you just going to spend your day off watching me eat my cereal?" Shaw asked through a mouthful of cereal.

"Yes," Root answered cheekily.

Root could tell Shaw wanted to roll her eyes but instead, she scooped a big chunk of cereal and began to chew with deliberate and surly relish.

Root wasn't entirely joking. She would spend the rest of her free time watching Shaw eat. It was hypnotic, the way Shaw shovelled food into her mouth like it would disappear at any second.

"Chocolate?" She offered the bag of chocolates to Shaw. It was an assortment of Sneakers bar, Twix, and other things Root knew Shaw would appreciate. Shaw considered the offer and Root shook the bag. "Its just chocolates."

At this, Shaw reached into the bag and grabbed herself a fistful then without a word put them all in her pocket. "Thanks."

"You're not going to eat them?"

"Not in a mood for chocolate."

Root frowned, she would be lying if she said she wasn't disappointed.

"So who were you this time?" Shaw asked seemingly out of the blue.

Root tried to keep the grin from her face but, judging from the baleful stare from Shaw, she was failing. "Are we doing small talk like a couple of gals?"

An interesting mix of exasperation and annoyance flitted across Shaw's features before settling into an annoyed huff, "Forget I asked." 

"IT for a small ad agency," Root gestured airily. "Boring."

"Still better than working for Macy's," Shaw countered.

Root chuckled, "I know."

Shaw munched on the cereal and it seemed like she was considering something.This was a part of Shaw Root didn't expect when she started dangling missions for Shaw to join her into. Shaw will jump over a cliff but not before she made sure the jump was on her own terms. 

Finally, Shaw broke her silence with, "How long's your down time between identities?"

"Depends," Root answered, keeping her tone light even if she was starting to feel a little uncomfortable at the direction of the conversation. "Sometimes hours, sometimes days."

Shaw didn't say anything but Root had a distinct feeling Shaw was reading something from her face, after half a beat Shaw nodded then gestured to Bear, " _Hier_."

Bear rose from where he lay and went to Shaw, Shaw reached for his head and started scratching, murmuring softly to Bear. Root blinked three times and had to acclimate from having Shaw's focus move away from her. Root pouted. It was a strange feeling, playing second fiddle to a dog.  

After a few more pats, Bear loped away seemingly satisfied at the attention Shaw rained on him. 

She followed suit and stood up, she held the bowl of cereal loosely in her left hand as she watched Bear move around, and then almost as an after thought she pulled something from her pocket. "Catch."

Something dark and small arced through the air and Root instinctively reached out and caught whatever it was Shaw tossed at her. She opened her hand and her eyes widened. It wasn't chocolate. It was black nail polish. She looked up at Shaw. "Is this for me?"

Shaw's back was to her as her shoulders went up in a shrug. "Don't read into it, I swiped a bunch of eyeliner and saw that on the counter."

"You saw black nail polish..." Root began slowly, "And thought of me?"

Shaw turned to face her, she was back to eating her cereal her cheeks ballooned and she looked like an adorable chipmunk. Root resisted the urge to stand up and pinch Shaw's cheeks. Root suspected it would lead to a broken arm.

And then she spoke shifting the chipmunk cheek to one side as she said in a very crisp tone, "Nope."

Root didn't even know she was grinning until she felt her face fall. Her expression might have been really pathetic because Bear loped next to her and nudged her leg.

She moved her leg from Bear's inquiring snout only to find Shaw's judging gaze.

"I really like eyeliners too," Root joked, playing off the warm feeling in her chest. She had to forgo wearing black nail polish in her down time, it took too much effort to put on and remove when she had to become someone else with little to no warning. 

Shaw snorted and stood up. "Yeah? Well, that's the only one you're gonna get, I can't keep swiping things off my counter."

She turned and headed to the pantry and then just before she disappeared from view Shaw turned to look at her.

"You know what you told Harold?" Her tone of voice was neutral but Root found herself staying still. She didn't know who was going to spook Shaw or herself. "About the rule for Halloween? You're pretty good at breaking rules, maybe its time to break the rules for today too. Today you get to be you." 

Root blinked four times this time and then mustered a smile, "So does that mean you'll help do my nails?"

Shaw smirked and backed into the pantry, "Nope." 

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired from _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ 's 'come as you aren't' philosophy from its first Halloween episode.


End file.
